Octopus go - Still available?

[fantasmagorica]

I think the following question is right for this thread, if not, apologies.

Why is everyone going with Octopus vs EDF? is it EDF's exit fees?

Yes the standing charge for EDF GO35 is 36p on peak but 5 hours of the night, it's 4.5p, so that's 37 kwh of charge per night (7.4kwh charger) at 4.5p (£1.67 for roughly 110-140 miles) plus all the house hold electricity (6000kwh per year) (we have multiple fridge/freezers) so that's a bulk of our energy usage. I also have some electric floors, so I can time those to come on throughout the night. (yes I know that the charging isn't that simple so might not be 7.4kwh but I need to base off something)

Taking that Octopus is only 4 hours at 7.5p (29.6 kwh) £2.22 for 80-110 miles, the EDF tariff works out? (i'm ignoring the standing charge as it's negligible)
Currently I'm on variable EonFlex at 20p/kwh so I don't like leaping to 36p/kwh standing charge but taking I plan to do about 12-15k miles per (about 4000-5000kwh EV usage) year and charge 95% at home, the the 4.5p for 5 hours of the night seems like the right choice. Any tariff I switch to other than OctopusGo (30p/kwh off peak) is at the 35p/kwh mark anyway, and in April the variable flex tariff will probably jump to 30p/kwh+.

So based on (very basic math) I would be looking at £225 vs £375 for the EV car per year + the savings on the rest of the house usage.

So simply does the extra hour and 3p a kwh difference make up for the 6p price difference in off peak. I've done the math and technically it does, but I don't know if I'm missing something as Octopus seems to be the preferred for everyone?
I'll happily be corrected if I'm missing something.

 

[HenryT]

I think the following question is right for this thread, if not, apologies.

Why is everyone going with Octopus vs EDF? is it EDF's exit fees?

Yes the standing charge for EDF GO35 is 36p on peak but 5 hours of the night, it's 4.5p, so that's 37 kwh of charge per night (7.4kwh charger) at 4.5p (£1.67 for roughly 110-140 miles) plus all the house hold electricity (6000kwh per year) (we have multiple fridge/freezers) so that's a bulk of our energy usage. I also have some electric floors, so I can time those to come on throughout the night. (yes I know that the charging isn't that simple so might not be 7.4kwh but I need to base off something)

Taking that Octopus is only 4 hours at 7.5p (29.6 kwh) £2.22 for 80-110 miles, the EDF tariff works out? (i'm ignoring the standing charge as it's negligible)
Currently I'm on variable EonFlex at 20p/kwh so I don't like leaping to 36p/kwh standing charge but taking I plan to do about 12-15k miles per (about 4000-5000kwh EV usage) year and charge 95% at home, the the 4.5p for 5 hours of the night seems like the right choice. Any tariff I switch to other than OctopusGo (30p/kwh off peak) is at the 35p/kwh mark anyway, and in April the variable flex tariff will probably jump to 30p/kwh+.

So based on (very basic math) I would be looking at £225 vs £375 for the EV car per year + the savings on the rest of the house usage.

So simply does the extra hour and 3p a kwh difference make up for the 6p price difference in off peak. I've done the math and technically it does, but I don't know if I'm missing something as Octopus seems to be the preferred for everyone?
I'll happily be corrected if I'm missing something.

A lot of the folks on here (me included) still enjoy much cheaper 'legacy' terms from Octopus. No doubt we will all be doing the same calculations as you in due course.

 

[qwickshot]

You also need to look at your energy use as a whole, including any gas.

I’m on a flat 20p/kWh until 2023 (no exit fee) and Octopus gas rates are 2.5x my current fix.

For me the electric is about break even but the gas is way more expensive. There is little point in moving the electric if there is not a substantive saving worth giving up a flare rate price for.

 

[Fury1]

With Octopus do you have to move gas as well as electric? I am with brit gas at the moment and looking for a cheaper EV tarrif

 

[qwickshot]

No, you don’t have to move both but what happens with the gas element of your current dual fuel contract (if you have one) depends on what you agreed with your current supplier.

 

[fantasmagorica]

You also need to look at your energy use as a whole, including any gas.

I’m on a flat 20p/kWh until 2023 (no exit fee) and Octopus gas rates are 2.5x my current fix.

For me the electric is about break even but the gas is way more expensive. There is little point in moving the electric if there is not a substantive saving worth giving up a flare rate price for.

That makes sense, I've got Oil. So I only need to care about Electric.

 

[Fury1]

No, you don’t have to move both but what happens with the gas element of your current dual fuel contract (if you have one) depends on what you agreed with your current supplier.

Will have to look atwhat will happen with the gas, i just assumed it would stay with britgas

 

[simonlines]

Need some advice- I live in a mid terraced house at the bottom of a quiet cul-de-sac. I'm not having a home charger as I can charge for free at work but at times may want to use the 3 pin just every so often. I'm currently on a variable tariff with British Gas following a fixed tariff period ending. Cheaper to be on variable at the moment because of the rising energy costs. Would it serve me best to stick with what I'm on or move to an EV tariff? Or are they purely if you have a home charger? Thanks.

 

[fantasmagorica]

Need some advice- I live in a mid terraced house at the bottom of a quiet cul-de-sac. I'm not having a home charger as I can charge for free at work but at times may want to use the 3 pin just every so often. I'm currently on a variable tariff with British Gas following a fixed tariff period ending. Cheaper to be on variable at the moment because of the rising energy costs. Would it serve me best to stick with what I'm on or move to an EV tariff? Or are they purely if you have a home charger? Thanks.

Taking that 3 pin plugs are only 2kwh (I believe), I would say stay as is and keep an eye on overall cheap electricity tariffs rather than EV ones

 

[DoricJim]

I think the following question is right for this thread, if not, apologies.

Why is everyone going with Octopus vs EDF? is it EDF's exit fees?

Yes the standing charge for EDF GO35 is 36p on peak but 5 hours of the night, it's 4.5p, so that's 37 kwh of charge per night (7.4kwh charger) at 4.5p (£1.67 for roughly 110-140 miles) plus all the house hold electricity (6000kwh per year) (we have multiple fridge/freezers) so that's a bulk of our energy usage. I also have some electric floors, so I can time those to come on throughout the night. (yes I know that the charging isn't that simple so might not be 7.4kwh but I need to base off something)

Taking that Octopus is only 4 hours at 7.5p (29.6 kwh) £2.22 for 80-110 miles, the EDF tariff works out? (i'm ignoring the standing charge as it's negligible)
Currently I'm on variable EonFlex at 20p/kwh so I don't like leaping to 36p/kwh standing charge but taking I plan to do about 12-15k miles per (about 4000-5000kwh EV usage) year and charge 95% at home, the the 4.5p for 5 hours of the night seems like the right choice. Any tariff I switch to other than OctopusGo (30p/kwh off peak) is at the 35p/kwh mark anyway, and in April the variable flex tariff will probably jump to 30p/kwh+.

So based on (very basic math) I would be looking at £225 vs £375 for the EV car per year + the savings on the rest of the house usage.

So simply does the extra hour and 3p a kwh difference make up for the 6p price difference in off peak. I've done the math and technically it does, but I don't know if I'm missing something as Octopus seems to be the preferred for everyone?
I'll happily be corrected if I'm missing something.

I considered this as well but EDF force you into a high rate gas tariff as well. It is only dual fuel. On octopus you can stay on the variable capped gas and then worry about fixing later or ride the wave until things settle down.

In my use case, having a power hungry hot tub, it works out better for me on Octopus.

Reckon around 3500-4000kwh off peak and 5000-5500kwh peak.

 

[qwickshot]

Will have to look atwhat will happen with the gas, i just assumed it would stay with britgas

What I meant was that if you have a fixed rate, that could be on the basis that you have both fuels with them.

By moving the electric, you may inadvertently find the gas also exists that cheaper fixed rate. The SVR is also going up 50%ish in April so also consider that in the mix.

If the gas is in the SVR already when I don’t think there should be any impact.

Need some advice- I live in a mid terraced house at the bottom of a quiet cul-de-sac. I'm not having a home charger as I can charge for free at work but at times may want to use the 3 pin just every so often. I'm currently on a variable tariff with British Gas following a fixed tariff period ending. Cheaper to be on variable at the moment because of the rising energy costs. Would it serve me best to stick with what I'm on or move to an EV tariff? Or are they purely if you have a home charger? Thanks.

See the posts above, in essence you need to estimate how much you’ll use of the night rate and the day rate , compare that to your current tariff and what happens in April when that goes up 50%.

Also consider any impact on gas as above if you have it.

 

[Rooster6655]

Need some advice- I live in a mid terraced house at the bottom of a quiet cul-de-sac. I'm not having a home charger as I can charge for free at work but at times may want to use the 3 pin just every so often. I'm currently on a variable tariff with British Gas following a fixed tariff period ending. Cheaper to be on variable at the moment because of the rising energy costs. Would it serve me best to stick with what I'm on or move to an EV tariff? Or are they purely if you have a home charger? Thanks.

You can use an EV tariff but when the 3pin only charges at 3% per hour on a LR then you aren't really going to see much saving over a short 4 hour period say with Octopus Go so there maybe better all round options to look at in your case.

 

[fantasmagorica]

I've decided to go with EDF GoElectric35, their off peak is almost 90% more than my current variable rate but taking in April rates are going to go through the roof that 90% will drop to 10-20% more by then anyway. Any fixed term contract I find (other than Octopus) is around the 35p mark anyway.
I don't mind locking in at that with the 4.5p for 5 hours which will more than cover the car charging + everything else running during that time. As that will put me on just over a penny a mile (best case) for the next 2 years.

 

[Fury1]

What I meant was that if you have a fixed rate, that could be on the basis that you have both fuels with them.

By moving the electric, you may inadvertently find the gas also exists that cheaper fixed rate. The SVR is also going up 50%ish in April so also consider that in the mix.

If the gas is in the SVR already when I don’t think there should be any impact.



See the posts above, in essence you need to estimate how much you’ll use of the night rate and the day rate , compare that to your current tariff and what happens in April when that goes up 50%.

Also consider any impact on gas as above if you have it.

Our deal with British Gas ended so we are on SVR- I believe 20.076 elec and 3.983 for gas. we have only had the EV since december so trying to work out future use is tricky.
I did however try and get a quote from EDF, they quoted gas and elec and said I would have to go onto their standard rates until changeover to their EV tariff and quoted £3,155.32 a year. No thank you

 

[yessuz]

I've decided to go with EDF GoElectric35, their off peak is almost 90% more than my current variable rate but taking in April rates are going to go through the roof that 90% will drop to 10-20% more by then anyway. Any fixed term contract I find (other than Octopus) is around the 35p mark anyway.
I don't mind locking in at that with the 4.5p for 5 hours which will more than cover the car charging + everything else running during that time. As that will put me on just over a penny a mile (best case) for the next 2 years.

do I miss something here on electric?!

 

[fantasmagorica]

do I miss something here on electric?!

They give you the standard goelectric rate to start with and then after a couple of weeks once your smart meter is all linked up you can move to one of their off peak rates. So I'm looking at 8p more until I get moved to the off peak rates.

 

[fantasmagorica]

I've just worked out that my rate only needs to go up by 3p/kwh to cost me more than my current variable rate of 20p/kwh, that's why I've decided to lock in for 2 years.

 

[yessuz]

hmm, current GO is fixed until end of March 2022. no exit fees...

might do some maths

 

[DoricJim]

Have just switched to Octopus and if you talk to their customer service team (not new inbound team) they are happy to switch you to the SVR rates for both gas and electric until GO is set up. Top service

 

[LampyDave]

Strange that SEG (export) prices haven’t increased..

And lo - email from Octopus today contained
"We’re increasing your export prices from 3p / kWh to 4.1p / kWh, a total increase of 36%. Your new price will take effect at midnight tonight."
It's like they can hear you...